Tram rail construction



March 23, 1954 J. B. FORKER TRAM RAIL CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Nov. 2, 1949 IN VEN TOR. .a aff/V74 Y @2K5/e March 23, 1954 J. B. FORKER 2.673,25?

TRAM RAIL CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 2. 1949 4 sheets-sheet 2 @WMV dan March 23, 1954 J, B FORKER 2,673,257

TRAM RAIL CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 2, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 lllllll! 't'. v INVENToR.

d. f/Vzy Fok/51? my UV ATTORNEYS March 23, 1954 J, B FORKER 2,673,257

TRAM RAIL CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 2, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. 1:1 E 7 d 5f/WAV Foe/ER Patented Mar. 23,1954

2,673,257 y*1:11AM RAIL CONSTRUCTIONV James Bently Forker, Shaker Heights, Ohio, as-

signor to The Forker Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application November 2, 1949, serial No. 125,083A

5 Claims.

`This invention relates to an electrification system for altramrail, traveling crane or the like and, more particularly, to the manner of mounting, shielding and energizing the conductor or conductors forming part of the system.

`Inany system of tramrail or crane electrication, it is necessary .that the conductors be so located'thatA they are exposed to the current collectors, which as a rule are mounted on a trolley cooperating with the track. It is desirable that the .conductors be shielded to preclude or at leasty Aminimize the likelihood of accidental contact with .thejconductora which ordinarily are substantiallycoextensive in length with the rail. So ffar as practicable, the shielding should provde protection from rain, ice and dirt and yet permitventilation forthe dissipation of heat. At the same time, itis important that arcing between conductors and between the conductors and the other parts of the system, particularly the shielding,.be obViated. These requirements make it diicult to design an electrification system that is at once safe to use and simple to make, install and maintain..

The present invention fhas forits .object td attain, and does in fact attain, these and other desirable ends that .will beapparent to those skilled in the art from the description which follows andfrom the accompanying drawings.

Among other things, objects of theinvention l include `the provisionvof an electrification system that may without significant loss of headroom be applied `to existing structures not previously electriiied,y that will work equally well inside and outdoors, and that in the event of local building fire will not permit live conductors to fall to the floor but` will continue for a prolonged period of time to support them at the level at which installed. Other objects include the provision of an electriiication system `for a tramrail permitting of Vthe use of tramrail switches characterized. byy reduced overall dimensions and small throw as comparedv with switches of the type required where the electrification system is ldisposed asymmetrically of the tramrail. These and other objects of theinvention are attained by providing an electrilcation system located immediately below the track .in a tramrail, traveling crane or the like in which `the, conductors and shielding are supported by and positioned centrally of the track,` y

In the drawings, Figure 1 is aside elevation lpart of the two-wheel trolley therein shown being omitted in the interests of clarity. Figure 8 is a cross section throughthe lower part of the rail, the shielding, and the spacer assembly. Figure 4 is an end elevation, on a reduced scale, of a two-wheel trolley with a conventionalized collecting shoe shown' therein, the rail, shielding and conductors appearing in section. Figure 5 is a plan of a modied form of shielding usable in lieu of theshielding illustrated in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive. Figure 6 is a plan of the shielding in Figure 5 when bent to conform to a track curvature of short radius, as in a switch system. Figure4 7 is a perspective on a somewhat smaller scale of a section of curved track provided with shielding of. the type illustrated in Figures 5 and 6.

The tramrail shown in Figures 1 to 4 of the drawings includes a rail I which as shown is a T-rail but which, if desired, may take the form of a beam rail. Such T-rail, used for short spans, is characterized by a relatively narrow top iiange 2, has the usual wide bottom ange 3, and is suspended from the ceiling or some other convenient support by means of hanger 4. Cooperating with rail I is a trolley, which ordinarily will -be a four-wheel or eight-wheel trolley having a longitudinally -extending load bar but which may be and for simplicity is represented as being a two-wheel trolley made up of a yoke 5 and two trolley wheels 6a, and 6b, the trolley wheels riding on bottom ange 3 of rail I. To prevent the trolley from riding off rail I at the end thereof, abutments 1a and 'Ib are provided which abutments act as stops for trolley wheels 6a and 6b. Abutments la and 'Ib take the form of L-shaped members the Shanks of which are made fast, as by screws or bolts, to the web of the rail.

Located immediately below and symmetrically of bottom ange 3 of rail I is a stiflened sheet metal shield,A preferably of ferrous metal, taking the form of a longitudinally extending U-shaped of a tramrailshowing a preferred form of leadin assembly for theshielded electrification system forming part ofthe present invention. Fighousing. Such housing is fastened at intervals along its length to the under side of the bottom liange by spot or arc welding. Where arc welding is used, the welds make contact as shown in Figures 2 and 3 both with housing 8 and bottom ange 3 of rail I. Housing 8 is not coextensive with railI but continues for a short distance beyond the end of the rail, this in order to provide clearance for Vthe current collector and room above.v the housing for the lead-in assemblyv shown at the right in Figure 1.

Where it projects beyond rail I, housing B is provided with a circular aperture (not shown) through which a rigid conduit 9 extends to a point within housing 8 from a point at or above the level of narrow fiange 2 of rail I. The part of conduit 9 in apposition to narrow flange 2 of rail I is held in place by means of a metal strap I that is welded, bolted or otherwise affixed to the iiange 2, the upper end of conduit 9 projecting into a conduit box II through a circular opening (not shown) in strap I0. Preferably, the ends of conduit 9 which enter housing 8 and conduit box II are externally threaded. By means of nuts cooperating as shown in Figures l. and 2.

with the threaded portions thereofconduit 3 is held against movement.

Current is supplied to conduit box II from a conventional flexible conduit I2. Fromconduit box II three separate leads I3 extend downward into rigid conduit 9 and thence into housing 8. At their lower` ends, leads I3 are provided with connectors I4 of conventional shape which are bolted or otherwise fastened to three conductor bars I5, I6 and I1, located as shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings. To minimize the possibility of arcing, conductor bars I5, I6'and I1 are` spaced well apart from each other and well removed from the nearest interior surfaces of housing 8. As shown in Figures 1 to 4, housing 8 extends downward to a level well below the bottoms of conductor bars I5, I6 and I1, thus substantially reducing the likelihoodof occasional accidental contactwith the conductor bars but leaving the bottom of housing B` open for purposes of ventilation and reception of the current collector on the eooperating'trolley.

As shown in-Figures 2,'3`and 4, housing 8 is generally channel-shaped; base 2U "thereof `being somewhat narrowerthan but`making extensive surface contact with the wide underside of bottom flange 3 of rail I. Base 20 is flanked byslants 2I and 22 which carry housing 8 laterally beyond the outermost surfacesof bottom nange 3. Slants 2I and 22^terminate Vbelow the outer faces of trolley `wheels '6a andf6b, housing 8 continuing down .i

ward therefrom to provide two dependingskirts or skirt-like portions, designated23 and 24, which'A serve as side walls.

conductorbars I5,- I6-and I1,fside walls 23 and 24 At their lowermost portions,` which are well below the lowermost 'surfaces of are reversely bent as shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4 i to form inside wearing strips-25 and 26. Wearing strips 25 `and 26,whichlare coextensive in length with housing 8, serveto stiffenside walls 23 and 24-in the region invwhich the current collector may come into contact therewith, as, for example, in the event of rocking of the trolley, andalso serve as guides for the current collector. desired, 'the reversely bent portions may be `spot welded to side walls 23 land24 to prevent opening up of the wearing strips.

Conductor barsv I5; I6 and I1 are shown as held in place within housing 8 and inthe desired spaced relation to each other by means of transversely extending metal rivets which bridge lthe channel in housing 8 and which; in the sense that they tend to position opposed side walls 23 and 24, may be described as stiffeni'ng means.`

As best shown in Figures 1 and 3,housing 6 is*- provided just below slants 2| and 22 with oppositely aligned `indentations-21 and 2li` in which" are receivedV the heads 29 and 30 of rivets 3|.

The portions of the rivets immediately adjoiningheadsi29 and 3l)` thereof `pass through central ciry cular-openings (not shown)` in indentations 21- and 28. Rivets 3|, being of metal, must be insulated from conductor bars I5, I6 and I1; accordingly, each rivet is surrounded from end to end thereof by a snugly fitting cylindrical insulator 32 which may be of a phenolic resin (Mi carta) or some other material of suitable dielectric and engineering characteristics. Rivets 3I andA insulators 32 pass with little clearance through circular openingsA (not shown) in conductor bars I5, I6 and I1, which openings are in alignment with each other and with the openings in indentations 21 and 28, all tothe end of making possible a rivet-and-spacer assembly of a high degree of rigidity. and dielectric strength.

Surrounding `each insulator 32 are four spacers 33, likewise of phenolic resin ("Micarta) or some similar insulating material, which are so proportioned in respect of Y. diameter as to fit snugly outsideinsulators 32 and so proportioned in respect of length as to locate conductors I5, I6 and I1 in the desired relationship to each other and to housing 6. Like insulators 32, spacers 33 are cylindrical, although individually much shorter in length. Together with conductor bars I5, I6`

and I1, spacers 33 fill the space between opposed indented portionsinsidewalls 23' and 24. Thus they serve to precludethe possibility of lateral movement of conductorbars I5, I6 and I1 within housing 8.

The assembly shown in cross" section inI Figure 3 occurs at regular intervals`- longitudinallyl of housing 8, the distance separating them 'being determined by the size and weightof the condu`c" tor bars and the dimensions of th'ehousing. The assembly closest to theend of rail I fappearingj in Figuregl Oflthadrawings'is so; located with building iire,v these assemblies `and`particularly the rivetsformingpart thereoffserve to hold upf" the live conductor bars long 'enough to'r` minimize the likelihood "offadditionaldamage v'to' property and/or injury to personnelarisingout ofdis-'i placement of the conductor bars "themselves Figure 4 shows `in detaillthe mannerE infwhich' conductor bars 15,1 I6 lanti -'I 1 make `contact with the collecting' shoes forming part :ofa current collector 35 mounted-'oni' vthe yoke'5 'of fthtrolley cooperating withfrail I: The 'current collector 35.1" the constructi'o'ri of whichis notfimportant forr present purposes andwhich is therefore vshownY in conventionalized'-fashion, vembodies three spring-i loaded collecting'v shoes `36 #which runderlie and y make contact with-conductor -barsv I5, I'6 and '|15 Extending downward from collecting-shoes 36 are three-leads 31 that' are'groupedwithin-a cable' 38 passing through a hollowkingfpiti-SS` forming@ part `of trolley yoke'i5."r If,A rather 'thanfa twowheel trolley of the Vtype shown inf'the drawings,- a four-wheel trolley lis "employed,Z the y"two 'yoke assemblies will`beconnectedfby'fafload bar yextending from the king pin of oneyoke assemblyA to the king'pin of the-*othen in' whichi'case the" current collector will `of course bemountedabov'e r thelevel of the top of the load 'bar irifsuchmanrierl as'to precludeA mutuall interference vbetween them. i The powerdrawnfrom conductor bars 45,16 and I1 by means of current collector 35in'ay"be`"" usedf orv energizing va 'motorL incorporated in" the instances, the electriciication system will have three conductors such as conductor bars I5, I6 and I1; however, in special cases, more than three `may be required and in other only two will be necessary. The shape of housing 8 will be determined in large part by the number and location of the conductor bars and to some extent by the size and shape of the current collector.

The shielded electrificationsystem so far described includes two skirts or skirt-like portions interconnected by slants 2l and 22 and the hori- Zontally extending base 20. It is not necessary that housing 8 be formed integrally as shown in Figuresr 1 to 4; instead, it may, if desired, be made up of two independent skirts or skirt-like portions which are separately afxed in some suitable way to the under side of bottom flange 3 of .rail I. In such' a case, base 20 of housing 8 may be largely or entirely supplanted by a gap or space extending substantially from one to the other of the two slants or even from one to the other of the two skirt-like portions. A construction in which the shielding is in two spaced parts 4ta and 4Ib is illustrated in Figure 5, which shows the two parts as seen from above but with the rail itself removed. In addition to being made up of two spaced parts Illa and M17 separated from each other by a longitudinally extending gap, the shielding shown in Figure is characterized by a multiplicity of transversely extending notches or slots 43a and 3b.

Slots 43a and 43h preferably extend through two horizontally extending flange-like portions 42a and42b corresponding to base 20 by which the two skirt-like members 4 I a and lIIb are made fast, as by spot or arc welding, to the under face of bottom iiange 3 of rail I and thence across slants 44a and 44h, at the outer limits of which slots 43a and 43h may conveniently terminate. Below slants 44a and 44h, side walls lI5a, and 45h are imperforate except where apertures are provided as previously described for reception of the ends of the rivet-and-spacer assemblies shown in cross section in Figure 3. As in the case o-f the shielding shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4, the lowermost portions of side walls 45a and 45h are reversely bent to provide interior wearing strips 46a and 4Gb.

In addition to permitting ventilation and attendant dissipation of heat through slots 43a and 43h, the two-part shielding shown in Figure 5 has the further advantage that it can readily be bent as illustrated in Figure 6 to conform to a track curvature of relatively short radius such as that used, for example, for switching purposes. If so bent, the slots in one part diverge or open up at their outer ends while those in the opposed part converge or narrow down at their outer ends as indicated in Figure 6. As therein illustrated, slots in member dla, although originally of uniform width, have opened up at their ends so as to present relatively wide spaces 41 adjoining the gap between the two parts. The slots in opposed member Mb, although originally of uniform dimensions, have narrowed down at their ends as indicated at 48 to a point where much of the original opening has disappeared.

In this manner, members Ala and Alb may be bent to permit the shielding to accommodate itself, within reasonable limits, to a track curvature of relatively small radius. After bending, the members may be spot or arc welded or otherwise fastened to the under surface of bottom flange 3 of rail I, following which conductor bars l5, [6 and I1 may be mounted thereon by means of transversely extending rivet-and-spacer as` semblies of the kind previously described. If

desired, the rivet-and-spacer assemblies may ber introduced before the shielding is aflixed to rail I, thus facilitating handling of the shielding as a unit notwithstanding the fact that the shielding itself is not integral but in two major parts. mentof parts is shown in Figure '7 in which, for the sake of clarity, the current collector has been omitted from the trolley,

It is apparent fro-m the foregoing that im-v for the dissipation of heat by Ventilation, al-` though in general the open construction characteristising the bottom of the housing 8 makes for efficient ventilation without adding such apertures. If, for reasons applicable to a particular installation; e. g., the necessity of bending the shielding to conform to a track curvature,4

it is desirable to make the shielding in two parts, this can readily be-done: such parts may confveniently `be interchangeable until such time as;

they are bent as above described to introduce a lateral curvature into the shielding itself. In either case, the shielding may be attached to the track in simple fashion and in a relatively short time, usually by conventional methods.

In addition to these advantages, a further advantage follows from the fact that the shielding is located below the track with the conductor bars spaced symmetrically of the track. With this arrangement, if the trolley is turned around on the supporting structure, as is possible with certain switching combinations, the collecting shoes on the current collector nevertheless line up properly with the conductor bars. To correct for resulting phase reversal, it is desirable to add a transformer to the system, connecting the primary side of the transformer to the main power source. On the secondary side, one of the three phases is grounded and also connected to the tramrail track which has electrically bonded joints, another is connected to the two outside conductor bars, and the third is connected to the middle conductor bar. For the hoist and trolley motors, the proper phase is grounded to the trolley which rolls on the tramrail track, a second phase is connected to the two outside current collecting shoes, and the third is connected to the middle collecting shoe. By this method, phase reversals are eliminated and the advantages of having the electrication system located below the track and symmetrically of the center line of the track are fully realized.

It is evident that numerous changes in relationships, proportions, construction, and manner of assembly may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. In lieu of the preferred methods and materials employed as above described, variousother methods and materials may be employed: for example, the rivetand-spacer assemblies may, if desired, be replaced by other stiifening and supporting means that will serve to position the conductor bars at the proper places within the shielding. Although its presence is often desirable, it is not neces- In either case, the resulting arrange--v 7 sary that va Wearing `strip be provided: this may bef omitted by omitting thev step ofltransversely bending the side Walls of the housing. Various other changes, including the addition f of= still othermeans for Ventilating; may be made if desired.

It is intended thatthe patent shall cover, `by` summarization in the appended claims, Whatever features of patentable novelty-reside in thevinvention,

What is claimed is:

1. A tramrail construction comprising an integrally yformed` upright metal rail having an upwardlyfacing outwardly projecting iiange for supporting a trolley'on the upwardly facing 'portion thereof; v a channel-shaped metal housing affixed to the `bottom ofthe flange with the base ofthe channel abutting the bottom of theli'lange; horizontally extending metal rivets bridging the channel in the housing and `projecting through the sides thereof; snugly fitting insulating sleeves extending from one sidewall of ther channel to the other in surrounding relation to the rivets; spacers of insulating material surroundingthe insulating sleeves; and,lbetween the spacers, conductor bars with openings for the rivets and insulating sleeves, each of said conductor bars beingseparated by an air gap from the base of the channel.

2. Aconstruction as inr claim l in which the housing is of sheet metal.

3, A construction asin claimrl inwhichlthev housing is formed, of apiece ofsheetmetaLof U -shaped cross-section.

4. A construction as inclaim`1 in whichthe housing is formed of two oppositely facing piecesof sheet metal each of-which is C-shaped.

5, A constructionas in claimv4 in which the.

C-shaped pieces areslotted where they abut the bottom of the flange. l

JAMES BENTLY FOltKlll'w".`

References Cited inthe file 0f this patent- UNITED STATES PATENTS 

